What to do about gaps in coop

[debid]

Pool noodles

They'll eat them. Chickens have a strange attraction to foam. I have a pipe that has foam insulation too close to where mine range and had to wrap the heck out of it with duct tape to keep them from destroying it a second time.

 

[saysfaa]

1x4s, or maybe even 1x3s, cost less than 2x4s

 

[debid]

1x4s, or maybe even 1x3s, cost less than 2x4s

It's a good use for scrap wood, too, but I would use 1*4 if I had to buy some to get it done.

 

[perkolator]

I recently encountered this exact problem, because I didn't think to enclose these gaps when building the coop, and only on one wall. My coop interior sits mostly unused, as the chickens always preferred to sleep inside their run where I added roost bars, and their nest box is accessible underneath from the run. Last summer I started seeing chew marks all over my coop structure in little corners, like rodent trying to escape the quite secure coop, not enter. Finally after hearing odd noises at night, I discovered rats had made a home inside the unoccupied coop's walls. Blocked off the entry with hardware cloth to cut off their food supply for a few days, then put in a few baited traps...

Haven't done it yet but my plan is to cut some strips of wood to fill these gaps, just like the pics, and just mount with screws from the sheeting. Like yours, my walls are made with 2x3 lumber, so I'll just use a piece of that since it will fit perfectly. If it's a tight fit you can likely tap them into place and anchor with screws from the facing; if it's loose fit and wants to fall inside, try adding a temporary screw as a "handle" to hold it while screwing it in.

Any type of foam won't be good to block this, rodents will just chew through it and chickens will likely peck at it due to accessible location.